When Rubi Wahhab Nicholas visited her alma mater, Pottsville Area High School, on March 8, she quickly discovered a few things had changed since the last time she visited its locker-lined halls in 2003.
“I have to what?” Nicholas asked, when introduced to the visitor management system the district implemented in 2013.
Representatives in the high school office asked her to spell her name, then asked her to stand in front of a camera so they could make a visitor badge for her.
“This is cracking me up. I can’t believe the security. That’s mind-boggling. It’s a bit excessive. But I love that there’s security,” Nicholas said. “Who’s the principal?”
“It’s Mr. Knorr’s daughter,” said Jan Kurtek, administrative assistant to the high school principal, Tiffany L. Reedy.
“What?” Nicholas said, rather amused.
Reedy became the high school principal on July 1, 2012.
When she was in school in the 1980s, Rubi Wahhab Nicholas knew Reedy’s father, Fred Knorr, as a Spanish and German teacher.
Nicholas will perform at a “Comedy Night” scheduled for 7 p.m. April 23 at Pottsville Area High School’s Robert W. Wachter Auditorium. Tickets are $20 each, and the event will include hors d’oeuvres prepared by local businesses. Profits from the event will benefit the high school girls’ softball program, according to Eileen Kuperavage, treasurer of PAHS Softball Booster Club.
“I wanted to coordinate an event for the team that the entire community could enjoy. Mrs. Wahhab kindly connected me with her daughter, Rubi, and the comedy show fundraiser became a reality,” Kuperavage said.
“I’ll do more of a PG-13 show, but we’ll still have fun,” Nicholas said.
“This event has the potential to raise more than $10,000 for equipment, uniforms, banquet, senior gifts, beverages for all games and other items for the team,” Kuperavage said.
A first-generation Muslim woman of Pakistani descent, Rubi Wahhab Nicholas is the daughter of Dr. Abdul and Zarina Wahhab, Pottsville.
She graduated from Pottsville Area High School in 1987. She earned her liberal arts degree from Villanova University in 1991 and three master’s degrees from Temple University, one in occupational therapy in 1996, one in management information systems and one in electronic commerce in 2002.
She started her comedy act in 2005. In May 2006, Nicholas earned the coveted title of funniest mom after winning over celebrity judges in Nick At Nite’s “Search for the Funniest Mom in America 2.” She received a $50,000 prize for the Nick At Nite competition.
She also penned a children’s book, “My Mom’s Not Cool.” It was published in 2008 by Blueline Publishing LLC, Denver, Colorado, and features illustrations by Maia Chavez Larkin, according to Amazon.com.
In 2007, 2009 and 2012, Nicholas performed at the Majestic in Pottsville.
She resides in Lancaster.
Kuperavage said 500 tickets are available for pre-sale and can be bought from booster club officers, who can be reached at the following phone numbers: Kuperavage, 570-449-6208; Chris Eagan, 570-617-6462; Michele Turnitza, 570-294-2587; and Charles “Coach” Rinaldo, 570-294-4261.
As Nicholas walked through the halls of the high school March 8, she peeked into the trophy cases.
“Hey! Where’s the nerd cabinet? Where are we?” she asked.
“The nerds are everywhere,” Reedy said. “Were you in the honor society?”
“I was president of the honor society,” Nicholas said.
“In what year?” Reedy asked.
“In the year of our Lord nineteen-hundred and eighty-seven,” Nicholas said.
“There it is,” Reedy said, pointing to a red plaque in a trophy case, recognizing the “Pottsville Area High School National Honor Society” in the “Class of 1987.” The members were listed in alphabetical order and among them is “Rubi Wahhab.”
“There you are,” Reedy said.
“There I am! And these are my peeps,” Nicholas said, referring to everyone else on the list. “It doesn’t say that I was the president, but I was the president. And Mike Grieff was the vice president.”
Reedy allowed her to take the plaque out of the case, and Nicholas dusted it.
While walking the halls, Nicholas met one of her former teachers, Howard Merrick, a social studies teacher.
“She wasn’t afraid to express her opinion. That’s what I remember about her in class,” Merrick said.
“I was a bit contrary,” Nicholas said.